The makers of Grand Theft Auto must be taking a new study that says that violent video games cause teens to be more apt to the dangers of underage drinking, drug use, and sexual promescuity pretty seriously.
Their next game is for the XBOX 360 and is titled Table Tennis. No, seriously. It’s a pretty awesome looking table tennis game. No. Seriously.
Have you ever wondered what the iPod would be like if Microsoft created it? Well wonder no more.
All joking aside, this video made me think about how we package Christianity for the world. We have been given the greatest Message in the cosmos. It needs no dressing up; no additives. Yet we attach all of our theological mumbo-jumbo (read: our own agendas) all over it so that it crowds out the original simplicity and beauty and takes away from the powerful impact that the Message originally had. We had good intentions(?). We wanted people to be informed and to completely understand but what we create sometimes only takes away. What we create sometimes looks like everything else out there. The uniqueness of the Message is lost. Let’s get over ourselves and get into what God is all about. I’m tired of “Lookin’ for baby Jesus under the trash.”
On Sunday I had the opportunity to teach the adult class at church. The class was full of caring adults who are seeking to raise their children in safe, loving, and God-honoring homes.
Over the course of this quarter the main topic is holiness. The idea is for us to begin to create families that live holy lives set apart for God. To that end we are teaching on different topics that families struggle with. I was asked to teach on Teen Culture. I spoke about how adolescence begins at puberty and ends….. whenever the culture says it does. In fact, I read one article last week that said that adolescence ends at 26 (So, on Saturday I’ll become an adult?). I also spoke about MySpace.com. I didn’t treat the online community like the devil but I was honest with the parents about it. Teens have this need for community and without caring, involved adults there can only be a shadow community of the blind leading the blind. Wired.com had a couple of good (not great) articles for parents about MySpace. You can check them out below.
Ooops, wrong Gutenburg.
Five hundred and forty nine years ago today (maybe) the printing press printed the first book otherwise known as the Gutenburg Bible. On this note, the ESV Bible Blog has posted a history of the printing technology and the editions of scripture that have helped shape our world. The post is titled, Celebrating the Printed Bible and there are some great links and pictures for those of you who might be interested.
Update: This morning @U2 posted a link to Macnn which has posted a pic of the fake invite. Now can you see why I got a little excited? According to Macnn, the invite was sent from a user in Germany and according to @U2, Bono will be in Bueno Aries on March 1st so a press confrence in the US would be pretty difficult to pull off. Even for Bono.
I got way too excited over a post on iLounge that announced that Bono and Steve Jobs might be holding a press confrence in March to announce a red iPod as part of the Product Red initiative. Alas, the rumors turned out to false.
Minutes after I saw the post, iLounge posted a retraction:
Contrary to an earlier report, Apple will not be holding a special event on March 1. An Apple representative has confirmed to iLounge that an electronic invitation – marked with indicia of a benefit for AIDS – is an elaborate fake. The sender was apparently taking advantage of recent speculation that Apple would introduce a red iPod as part of Bono’s Product RED initiative. iLounge apologizes for any confusion this may have caused.
Companies including American Express, Converse, Gap and Giorgio Armani have all joined the project and plan to release specially-designed red products with a portion of the profits going to the Global Fund to support AIDS programs in Africa. The U2 frontman was reportedly overheard mentioning that Apple would be joining the initiative and introduce a red iPod.
I hope that Apple will join with Product Red sometime soon. There is always hope. Until then, I should learn to temper my excitement. The news that this was a fake has been a total bummer.
There have been some great new products and updates released at the MacWorld Expo this week. I am already salivating over little enhancements to iLife ’06 which include the new program iWeb which will allow for easy web page development and podcasting. The updates to iWork look pretty awesome. I have stopped using Microsoft office because i am so addicted to Pages and Keynote. Good stuff!
Apple also introduced the Intel-based Macs. Wow! Built in iSight! Whaaaaaat!
Check out the links below:
Good Morning! I am blogging live from the McDonald’s Location #03606 in Corinth, MS. I am here visiting family for Christmas and ran into town for some errands. I stopped by this McDonalds for some internet access and a Coke. Technology rules! I hope everyone has a Merry Christmas and a happy and safe holiday.
Peace to you and yours!
I logged on to the iTunes Music Store this morning and was pleasantly surprised to see that NBC is now offering content for the iPod Video. Now you can watch shows like The Office, Surface, Law & Order, and (Woo-Hoo!) Conan O’Brien in the comfort of your nearest Starbuck’s in quality sound provided by your white earbuds. NBC is also offering “classic” episodes of Alfred Hitchcock, Dragnet, Adam-12, and Knight Rider. If you have iTunes, click here to veiw the iTunes/NBC store. Shows are $1.99 a piece.
As soon as the iPod Video was announced I knew that this was a viable option for the future of television. Networks have seen failed properties whose initial run on prime-time television showed dismal ratings become DVD darlings in the home market. Freaks and Geeks in merely one example (Also from NBC). When networks can quickly and easily get content into the hands of consumers they can build brand recognition and brand loyalty. It is just that simple. I applaud ABC and NBC on taking this bold step on a new technology. This is a risk that I believe they will be well rewarded for.
Update: I found these links on iLounge.com after I posted this story. The first link offers a little more information on the NBC deal and the second discusses an ESPN/iTunes deal (ESPN is owned by ABC).